The following pictures were contributed by Jim Pickett from the collection of his father, Lawrence Pickett.


Boreham Airfield, Essex (Station 161), home to the 394th BG, the "Bridge Buster's" from February to July 1944.
Source: Paul Clouting (  B26.com )



Boreham Airfield.
Photo taken in 1944. Was home to 394th BG in 1944



Boreham Airfield Map in 1944
Source: William Deam
Click to enlarge


The 1782nd Ordnance Unit teamed up with the 394th Bomb Group in Boreham, England. They were there about two weeks ahead of the bomb group. The 1782nd was housed in Area 19 in quonset huts. Fifteen to twenty GIs shared a hut. The 1782nd had its own mess hall. They erected a shop building in front of the Area 5 large hangar. Each of the four Bomb Squadrons had their own mess hall.


Venlo Airfield Photo
Source: Donald Snyder
Click to enlarge


Venlo Airfield Y-55. It is probably taken during the time or shortly before 394th was based at the field. I would suggest by a reconnaissance plane of the 363rd TRG (F-6 and F-5 recc. planes) and who flew from Venlo during March/April 1945, together with 373rd FG. Possibly even after the Rhine crossing because it was a very busy time at Venlo then and you can't any planes on the field (They were all airborne, I guess or in the dispersal areas just outside the cover of the photo.

You can see the following:
More or less parallel from left to right is runway 27-09. Only provisionally repaired and used as taxiway or for parking.
Lefthand lower corner to upper r/h corner: runway 23-05. Also only provisionally repaired and also used as taxiway/parking space.
Lefthand upper corner to lower r/h corner: runway 30/12. Repaired and the only operational runway. On the 12 runway button side you can see the PSP extension between the two roads. It is narrower than the main runway. This runway lenghthening was necessary, because the standard runway lenghth was calculated for fighters like P-38 and P-51. Due to the higher weights of the P-47 and later the B-26, a lengthening was neccesary. This was done by the end of March 1945 by the 852nd Engineer Aviation Battalion, the unit that did most reconstuction work at the airfield.
Due to the much higher weights of the B-26, the main runway was partially closed during May for strengthening the surface.
The 394th BG area starts on the left hand side of the photo but about 90% of the area is outside the cover of the photo.

Thanks to Gene Sidwell and Hub Groeneveld for identifying this photo.


Wethersfield Airbase - 416th
Click to enlarge


Wethersfield, Essex, England. Base number 170.
The 1781st joined the 416th Bomb Group at Wethersfield Airbase.



Ardmore Airfield
   Remembrances of Ardmore
   A B-26C, (41-34770), with crew of seven on its way to Ardmore, Monday, July 12, 1943, from MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida, crashed approximately 26 miles SE of Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisana, killing all aboard. Captain Sheldon M. Pierce, aircraft commander, was flying in a loose "V" formation at 2,500 feet with five other B-26s when his aircraft and another dropped out of formation at approximately 1030 CWT. The flight leader, Captain Edward B. Saxton, used visual signals due to radio silence to tell them to return to the formation and assumed they did. Making a visual check a short time later, two other of the aircraft had changed position and Saxton assumed it was them. When they landed at DeRidder AAF, it was discovered Pierce had crashed. The reason for the accident could not be determined. Captain Pierce had flown B-26s for 275:30 hours of his total piloting time of 519:50 hours. This was the first accident with fatalities since activation of the 394th Bomb Group, Monday, February 15, 1943 at MacDill Field. This accident was sad news for 394th personnel as they arrived at Ardmore, their new field assignment. The crash was assigned to Ardmore even though the aircraft had never landed here. Fast Forward Note: Captain Saxton continued as squadron leader after the 394th went overseas. While there, he contacted polio and was relieved of his duties with the squadron.
   Two trains with support personnel of the 394th Bombardment Group departed for Ardmore from Tampa, Florida. One left July 14, 1943, with 1st Lt. Burton R. Miller as train commander. The other departed July 15, with Captain Henry D. Settles commanding. Each arrived in Ardmore four days later.
   On Friday, July 23, 1943, a B-26B (41-18243) of the 586th Squadron, 394th Bombardment Group, piloted by Lt. Elmer E. Herron on a cross-country to Oklahoma City, crashed approximately three miles northeast of Norman, Oklahoma. The aircraft struck a cable stretched across the South Canadian River disabling the left engine forcing a crash landing in a cotton field destroying the aircraft. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Lt. Herron later flew with the 394th in the European theater.
   Lt. Elmer Gedeon had a tire blow-out on his B-26 while landing at Great Salt Plains Air Field, Oklahoma. The plane was not damaged and Lt. Gedeon was not injured. Fast Forward Note: Captain Elmer Gedeon, 394th Bomb Group, 586th Bomb Squadron, one of the most popular officers in the group, was shot down over France, April 20, 1944. He was a former outfielder for the Washingon Senators and a star athlete while attending the University of Michigan. Others of the crew were 2/Lt Jack March, S/Sgt. Joseph Kobret, Sgts. John Felker and Ira Thomas and Pvt. Charles Atkinson; 2nd Lt James Traaffee (?) was taken prisoner.
   The commanding general of the 3rd Air Force, Brigadier General James E. Parker, visited the 394th Bombardment Group and toured the Ardmore base July 20, 1943. The first official ground and aerial review for the group was held July 24, 1943. No opportunity was presented by base officials for Ardmore civilians to learn of the 394th's war training activities due to its short stay at the base. Fortunately, the history of the 394th from activation to deactivation has been chronicled in Bridge Busters, a 1949 publication written by Captain J. Guy Ziegler who served with the unit. Much of the Ardmore information is from this source.
   Orders issued August 14, 1943, transfered the 394th Bombardment Group to Kellogg Field, Michigan. The advance echelon left Ardmore August 17. Aircraft were dispatched August 19 and two train loads of support troops under command of Captain Henry D. Settles and Lieutenant Burton R. Miller, departed Ardmore, August 23, 1943.



Holmsley South Airfield
  



MacDill Airfield
  


  
Aerial View of Cambrai (A-74) and Cambrai (A-74 Control tower).